Reciprocity in our relations
Group of Conservation Volunteers at the Red Deer Fence Pull event (Photo by NCC)
When we think about the relationships we have in our lives, it is easy to think about our family and friends. These are people who we can talk to and who we associate with love and happiness. When you think about the relationships in your life,...
Deep in a thousand-hectare woods: Protecting the magic of Happy Valley Forest
Aerial view of Happy Valley Forest, ON (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
One day it rained red in Happy Valley Forest, and I was there to see it. This was not the red rain of cast-off maple leaves in the fall. This rain painted the tree branches in the spring. And I have witnesses. This is how it went down. It was...
Being happy volunteering in Happy Valley Forest
Squeaky clean signboard at Happy Valley Forest (Photo by Yoke Wong)
In April 2019, my Tiles and Trails hiking group leader, Daisy, asked if any members would be interested in doing trail maintenance at a nearby nature reserve. I had done trail cleanups in the past, so trail maintenance was a natural fit. Plus, it...
A memorable dance at dawn
Sharp-tailed grouse on The Yarrow (Photo by Brian Keating)
The sharp-tailed grouse dance at The Yarrow is one of many spellbinding natural displays observable at this special place. I’ve been lucky enough to visit The Yarrow, or the Fischer Ranch as it was previously known, more than a dozen times...
Wildlife encounters in rural Saskatchewan
My co-worker and I comparing our feet to prints left by a bear in rural BC.(Photo by Matthew Braun/NCC staff)
Wildlife encounters during my rural Saskatchewan childhood were rare, and you’d have to include cats and dogs and the numerous coyotes surrounding our farm to really pump my numbers up. And while coyotes arguing with dogs during the quiet...
A close encounter with ticks that I won't forget
Adult deer tick (Photo by Scott Bauer/Wikimedia Commons)
Anyone who knows me knows I am not a morning person, by any stretch of the imagination. But on this particular morning, it was 8 o’clock, and I’d already stripped the bed and sofa covers, done a load of laundry, and taken a long, hot...
Appreciating insects this World Animal Month
Eastern black carpenter ant (Photo by Wally Simpson, CC BY-NC 4.0)
October is World Animal Month, a time for us to reflect on the important roles that animals play in our lives. Animals are an integral part of human existence, and this month gives us a chance to appreciate their presence and create solutions for...
Leaves like a familiar face
The breathtaking Backus Woods in Ontario. One of the best examples of Carolinian old-growth forest in the country. (Photo by Ann Tipper and Zach Melnick)
When you think of wild spaces filled with tall, deciduous hardwood trees tilting in warm winds, frost-free days late into the fall, an abundance of reptiles and amphibians shifting between swamps and marshes, and words like sassafras, Kentucky...
Seeking nature
Backus Woods (Photo by Neil Osborne)
As a Torontonian, my interactions with nature tend to be few due to living downtown. However, Toronto has a few urban nature parks that are just further away and require some planning to get to. This has led me to travel across the city and region...
Trials and tribulations of native plant gardening
Oblique streaktail on my wild nodding onion plant (Photo by Wendy Ho/NCC staff)
A few years ago when my Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) colleague Jaimee was still residing in Alberta, we had a fun email exchange on the topic of native plant gardening. She has since moved to Nova Scotia, where she has a new array of native...
